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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. staff — employees
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — ground
  6. court — for sport
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. club — for dancing
  9. fork — in a road
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. staff — employees
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. land — to come down
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. staff — a stick
  23. club — a group
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com